TODAY I WATCHED... (Movies. TV) 2022

Oh man, I loved "Alligator" when I was a kid. I was 11 the first time I saw it on TV and it scared the crap outta me!  

I saw it again a year or so ago for the first time in a long while and it's held up pretty well.

The belated sequel, though ("Alligator II: The Mutation") is pretty much a cheap re-run, just set in a different city. I think they even recycle some creature shots from the original.

Some episodes of All In The Family and Beavis & Butthead.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Oh man, I loved "Alligator" when I was a kid. I was 11 the first time I saw it on TV and it scared the crap outta me!  

I saw it again a year or so ago for the first time in a long while and it's held up pretty well.

The belated sequel, though ("Alligator II: The Mutation") is pretty much a cheap re-run, just set in a different city. I think they even recycle some creature shots from the original.

Alligator II is in my watchlist too.

The Boys

"Viva Las Vegas" (1964)

A race car driver (Elvis Presley) arrives in Sin City to take part in the first ever Las Vegas Grand Prix, and takes a job as a hotel waiter to earn enough money to fix his car. Along the way he romances a swim instructor (Ann-Margret) and sings a bunch of terrible songs. Typically corny Elvis musical fluff, worth watching simply to ogle Ann-Margret, who's so hot that she absolutely steals the movie from The King. Legend has it that Elvis and Ann had a brief real-life romance during filming, and I can't say I blame him!

"Truck Turner" (1974)

Soul music legend Isaac Hayes is Mack "Truck" Turner, the most badass skip tracer in L.A., who winds up with a price on his head after he kills a powerful pimp. Cars crash, bullets fly, butts get kicked. This was one of the best "blaxploitation" movies of the 70s. Nichelle "Lt. Uhura" Nichols is amazing playing against type as the vicious dragon-lady villainess, and the "pimp funeral" scene is one of the greatest things ever committed to film.

"The Crow" (1994)

A year after he and his fiancee are murdered by a gang of vicious thugs, a musician (Brandon Lee) is brought back to life thanks to a mysterious bird to seek vengeance on those responsible.  
Based on J. O'Barr's graphic novel, this Gothic superhero/action flick is notorious for the on-set accident that took Lee's life, but it's a pretty great, stylish, emotional movie in its own right. It's become a cult classic in the years since, and deservedly so.

AEW

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Ms. Marvel

Paranormal Caught On Camera

Back into my pile of "Dollar Tree DVDs"

"The Island" (2005)

A couple (Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johanssen) who've been brought up in a tightly controlled, high-tech society learn that they're clones, grown to provide spare parts for rich & powerful people in the outside world. Mayhem ensues when they escape and the facility's corporate Powers That Be go into overdrive to re-capture them before they can reveal its secrets.
Michael "Transformers" Bay directed this fast moving sci-fi/action mashup that sets up a pretty cool, dystopian vibe in its first half (think Logan's Run) but in typical Bay fashion, it turns into an increasingly ridiculous series of chase scenes, crashes, and explosions in the second. A decent, if not particularly memorable, popcorn flick.

War Of The Gargantuas (1966)



Psuedo sequel to Frankenstein Conquers The World, wherein 2 gigantic ape like creatures, one with an appetite for people and destruction and the other somewhat more agreeable, rampage across Japan (where else?) while the government does a lot of hand wringing on trying to figure out what to do with them. A somewhat by the numbers daikaiju flick, but enjoyable to watch, with the creature designs rather cool and nice fight scenes on top of that, with more wrestling than what you would see in other films in the genre.

Treasure Island.
Jack Palance was Long John Silver.

"The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years" (1988)

Penelope Spheeris' documentary about the glam-metal scene in late 80s Los Angeles is not just a time capsule of the Spandex and Aqua-Net era, it's a classic of unintentional comedy. Features interviews and live clips of legends (Lemmy, Paul Stanley, Alice Cooper), up-and-comers (Vixen, Poison, Lizzy Borden, Seduce, London) and a whole lotta nobodies who went on to become punch lines (Odin, the Wet Cherri guy). Plus, Chris Holmes drinks his way into metal history while floating in a pool. I never get tired of this flick.

"L7: Pretend We're Dead" (2017)

Documentary profile of all-girl grunge/punkers L7, who were never quite able to crack the glass ceiling into 90s rock superstardom despite tons of talent and 'tude and having high powered friends like Nirvana, Marilyn Manson, and the Chili Peppers. Loaded with tons of cool/hilarious photos, behind the scenes videos and live footage. L7 was one of my favorites during the '90s and they're still kicking ass today.

Ebirah:Horror Of The Deep (1966)



When a fisherman gets lost at sea, his brother and a couple of friends steal a yacht to look for him, along with a stowaway bank robber who was hiding out on the yacht. They are attacked by a large lobster during a storm and wash up on an island that serves as headquarters for a terrorist organization, who uses the giant lobster as a defense. They soon discover the organization uses slave labor from nearby Infant Island (home of Mothra) and produces hard water for nefarious purposes. They also discover Godzilla is hibernating on the island. You can guess where this is all leading to. A somewhat off beat Godzilla film, with an uncharacteristic jazzy soundtrack and Godzilla acting out of character, almost playfully interacting with the beautiful Kumi Mizuno.

"Hell Of The Living Dead" (aka "Virus" and "Night of the Zombies," 1980)

A chemical leak on a South Seas island turns the native population into flesh eaters. A commando team and a TV news crew battle their way across the undead-infested land to find the source of the infection.
Typically schlocky Italian Z-horror, with the usual muddled story, hilariously awful dubbing/dialogue, and plentiful but cheap gore. Directed by Bruno Mattei of "RoboWar" and "Rats" fame.

"X-Men: First Class" (2011)

Fifth installment in the Marvel Mutants series is a prequel set in the early 60s. Young Charles Xavier and Erik "Magneto" Lensherr meet for the first time and assemble the first squad of X-Men to combat a powerful mutant (Kevin Bacon) who wants to use the Cuban Missile Crisis to kick off a war between mutants and humanity. Great performances by Bacon, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, and Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique (taking over from Rebecca Romijn), great special effects, tons of fun. I think it's the best X-Men movie of 'em all.

"Porky's Revenge!" (1985)

The "Porky's" trilogy comes to a close. As the crew of horn dogs from Angel Beach prepare for their high school graduation, they tangle with the notorious Porky again, who wants the boys to throw the state championship basketball game. Obviously there's nothing new here, but if you liked the first two films, you'll get a few laughs out of this one as well.

"Now You See Me" (2013)

A quartet of highly skilled magicians puts on huge, spectacular shows that double as multi-million dollar robberies. An FBI agent is determined to find out how they pull off their illusions and their crimes.
A fun, fast moving caper flick with a lot of twists and turns and a great cast (Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine, Woody Harrelson, Morgan Freeman). It may not rank high on the believability scale but it's certainly fun to watch.

The Book of Eli(2010)-Thirty years after the apocalypse, a lone man walks the wastelands carrying a book that was told to him in a dream that would be the key to saving humanity. Along the way, he has to deal with gangs, cannibals and a man who is after the same book and wants it for himself and will do what ever it takes to get it. While not a lot of originality is in this movie as it plays out like your typical WWIII action flick, although the part about the book when it is explained, is a little different. Overall, a very solid movie with a good cast.3/5

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Ms. Marvel

Manson : Music From An Unsound Mind. Documentary on Charles Manson's ties to the music world before leading his family to murder.

Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness (2022)

Second viewing of this for me and I enjoyed it as much as the first time I saw in the theater.

Last night I watched the first episode of "Pistol," The FX/Hulu mini series about the Sex Pistols, based on Steve Jones' autobiography. Pretty good stuff so far with a cool soundtrack (Bowie, Hawkwind, T-Rex, etc.)

"Now You See Me 2" (2016)

The magicians/thieves are back for another globe trotting adventure full of twists, turns, and double crosses. This time the so-called "Horsemen" are drafted into service (against their wills) by a mysterious billionaire (Daniel "Harry Potter" Radcliffe) who wants them to use their skills to steal a very important computer chip. Just as much fun as the first film, with lots of impressive effects and illusions.

The Howling: Reborn(2011)-a pregnant woman is attacked by an unseen creature, injuring the baby. Eighteen years later, the kid is now an awkward high school student who has a crush on one of his classmates. Some new students have arrived, who might not be as human as they first look. He soon discovers that a group of werewolves are preparing to take over the world and he just might have a personal connection with them. This film tries to appeal to both old school horror fans as well as fans of more teen horror genre like Twilight as the movie is also a love story and not just a monster film. The original Howling is a classic and one of my favorite movies, but all the sequels pretty much sucked and this one didn't totally work for me either. Less boyfriend/girlfriend stuff and more monster mayhem, I'd say. Or maybe I'm just old.

Ms.Marvel

"Meteor" (1979)

When a giant hunk of potentially planet-killing space rock heads toward Earth, an international coalition headed by a NASA scientist (Sean Connery) and his Russian counterpart (Brian Keith) must figure out how to blow it out of the sky before it's too late.
A cheesy but fun sci-fi/action epic that came along at the tail end of the '70s "disaster movie" wave and pretty much put the final nail in the genre's coffin. Turn off your brain and enjoy its blend of all-star casting (Connery, Keith, Natalie Wood, Henry Fonda, Martin Landau, Karl Malden, and more), outdated Cold War political subplots, and cheap but charming special effects.
I will gladly watch this one over Michael Bay's "Armageddon" (which is basically the same movie on steroids) any day of the week.